


Words Optional

by realfakedoors



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crack Relationships, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Romantic Fluff, Valentines Day 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-16 20:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13643727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors
Summary: Topaz always had Topaz, but that was before. After a strange encounter with an even stranger man, she starts to wonder if Earth has more to offer than meets the eye.





	Words Optional

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Crooked_Mantis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crooked_Mantis/gifts).



Tonight, Topaz sat at what seemed like the edge of everything this planet had to offer and still managed to be underwhelmed. The towering lighthouse at her back coupled with the curvature of the stone-carved fusion of mythos below did not create any sort of captivating or charming landscape. It was just… unfamiliar.

It _all_ felt unfamiliar, if Topaz thought about it. The machines were too loud, the sky was too bright. Earth was a place of the worst kind of excess -- too many voices and places and things she could not understand.

She had seen many planets, and even more moons. _This_ planet, in _this_ star system, had but a single moon. It was alone, caught in a dance around and around, never really accomplishing anything. It was entirely unimpressive.

Still, the moonlight provided at least some sort of catharsis, something different than the monotony of day. If nothing else, it was pretty. The serene light inked daubs across this strange town, where water became sand and sand became soil. It washed over everything with a muted glow; the sands bleached and the water became a black mirror reflecting even darker skies. Topaz had not really felt at ease since coming to Earth. Though it had been several weeks, she could not find her comfort here. It’s not that she was not lonely, not exactly, because she had herself. Topaz always had Topaz, and sometimes, that was enough.

But sometimes… she wasn’t so sure.

The Crystal Gems had been welcoming - almost _too_ welcoming, if that was possible. Not only was there another permanent fusion - a _crossfusion_ \- the whole lot seemed to fuse with one another without so much as a second thought, and it made her abundantly uncomfortable. She moved her large palms to cover her gemstones reflexively, as if the action might block out the strange memories that rushed to greet her.

Leaving everything behind had been hard, and while the Crystal Gems had been sympathetic, the people of Earth were considerably less understanding, and Topaz couldn’t blame them. Yellow Diamond had given her a directive to abduct six specific organics, and they had fought uselessly against her. It seemed everyone in the town knew about the incident, gossip and whispers following her by day along the boardwalk. Even if she was with Steven, or his friend Connie, the stares she received in public by day were colder than any celestial dwarf.

At least she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t alone, just, Topaz. And, no, she told herself - surely she she was not lonely.

Topaz always had Topaz, she reminded herself.

After hours of brisk night air and empty skies, her attention was finally piqued by movement along the beach, far beneath her. It was… a _human_? Yes, a man by the looks of it, walking along the white sands. Middle-aged, maybe near Greg’s age, by the looks of it. She did not recognize him, which after several weeks in Beach City, struck her as odd. The organic didn’t appear to be in any sort of hurry, and he too was gazing at the stars.

An inkling of dread willed the fusion to stand, uneasy at the thought of spying on this man. Even if she had been here first, quietly observing him felt unfair - like the way she felt in town, if she was being honest. Besides, every attempt she had made to connect on this planet had failed, and she did not need to make anymore enemies.

Steven had never introduced her to this person, so she had to presume he was a stranger. Maybe a threat. Could he be dangerous?

Yes - that was it. It was surely out of concern that she propelled down the cliff face, towards the water. He was drifting in the direction of Steven’s house, and if something were to happen to the half-gem child, she could never forgive herself for not intervening. This was purely a safety concern.

He didn’t notice Topaz approach, and it gave the gem an opportunity to evaluate the interloper.

The human garb he wore was particularly strange, pressed and free of wrinkles. She didn’t know what to make of the outfit. It was standard, cut, clean, sharp. Sort of like her own Homeworld attire, or Peridot’s. Not gaudy or flowy or too much - this was an easy outfit to appreciate.

From behind, the only thing she could not analyze was the man’s face. He was lean and tall, unlike Greg, but her guess of his age seemed about right. His hair was thinning at the top, and his ears were clearly visible as a result. Subconsciously, the fusion touched where her own ears would have been, lighty tracing the outside of her twin gemstones.

Finally, after almost a minute, the man’s posture stiffened and he turned to face her properly. Topaz’s mouth opened into a slight, comical “o,” but she did not utter a sound.

Secured around his head, the man had a strange apparatus covering one of his eyes. In a way, he looked like the infamous Emerald, somehow acquainted with that pink Lars child.

His expression was unreadable. Impressive, actually. If it was almost anyone else (besides, maybe, the other permanent fusion), she doubted they would have noticed the tiny upturn in his lips, or by the millimeters that his brow relaxed. Topaz was more highly regarded in her composure than even the highest Pearls, so to her, nothing ever went unnoticed.

His arm raised slowly, palm facing outwards, and then he began to move his hand from side-to-side at his wrist.

_Oh, right. Human gestures…_

She mirrored the motion, and stopped when he turned his hand around. His four fingers curled inwards repeatedly, like a tiny flex along his knuckles.

_He wants me to… come closer?_

Topaz obliged, a bit surprised herself, and moved all the way down to the water. His shoes were off and his well-tailored pants had been carefully cuffed at the bottom, raising above his ankles by a few inches.

The cool of the trickle of ocean felt nice on her heels. Refreshing, maybe.

The man turned to her, and it was not subtle - indeed, she was standing on the side blocked by the black patch. He surely could not see her unless he turned his whole head.

Topaz returned his movement with a glance, and she saw he was pointing at a small pin on the front of his shirt.

_Sam._

His name was Sam.

She nodded brusquely before turning her gaze skywards once again, but he did not look away. For some reason, Topaz didn’t mind his staring, though her face felt a bit warm after a while.

A slight scuffling sensation prickled the top of her foot, so Topaz looked down to see a shell washed up in the tides. The sides were jagged and prickly, not really smooth or flowing like the ones vendors sold in the town as paraphernalia.

She bent down and retrieved the shell, cupping it gently in her large hand. It wasn’t pretty; if anything, it was menacing. The angles were severe and the face of it was rough, hard and unforgiving.

Unsure what else to do, Topaz lowered her palm to the man’s eye level and he inspected the shell. Topaz watched an eyebrow jut upwards, a hand moving up to his chin. For whatever reason, Sam seemed very interested by her discovery.

Pale fingers rose to remove the shell from her flaxen palm, or so she suspected, and was surprised by the delicate touch of his human hand against her own. He merely traced the outline of the shell carefully with his own finger, and Topaz’s eyes widened as tiny notches in his skin caught in the sides.

She observed the deliberate motions, curious. His approach was tactical and precise, a quality the gem certainly appreciated, and the sharp corners did not draw any blood as he continued to circle it.

The moment would have been strange to anyone else looking in, a large and bright yellow fusion, known to be murderous by the people of the town, watching a slim man gently stroke the lines of her palm. The shell held within was tiny, and the longer they stood there with the waves rising over their toes, she noticed the severe parts of the shell less and the smooth motions of his fingers. They were surprisingly gentle; she was used to Steven’s excited grabbing fists as far as humans went, and this was nothing like that. Delicate, even calming, the motion was surprisingly nice. A tiny trail of pinpricks began to rise around her wrist the longer their strange shared moment continued, and the feeling was so hypnotic she didn’t realize for several seconds after that he stopped.

His fingers were gone, but the lightness against her hand was still there, radiating with human warmth. She had found the presence of heat on this planet to be unwelcoming, but for a reason she couldn’t understand, Topaz didn’t mind the darkening she felt against her cheeks.

Sam had glanced directly at her once again, meeting one eye to her two. His ears pointed away from them, one towards the sea and another back towards the cliff, while Topaz had no such curvature. Her profile was almost entirely smooth.

She could not help but examine the dark accessory that blocked his vision, although Steven and Pearl had warned her it makes human uncomfortable to stare. In a way, she felt like she could understand this man, needing to turn his full body to appraise things visually. She had a strange, once-removed ability to hear as a fusion with no anatomical ears - as the physiology of gems are simply projection of their whole self, one-half of each Topaz could hear, but as a whole she was not _exactly_ able to. It was a constant reminder of her identity as a fusion - if she wanted to listen, it would require her slipping into one of her independent consciousnesses. It could be disorienting, and if nothing else, it reminded her of her insufficiency. She gained something wonderful by becoming one Topaz, but that required losing something, too.

By functionality standards, Topaz was up to operating procedures to Homeworld, but it still made her feel different, like something was going on beyond a veil that she wasn’t allowed to acknowledge or remove. It wasn’t her place to question what this feeling was, but she did wonder.

She recalled Connie telling her about humans who were hard of hearing; it didn’t feel like an exact one-to-one comparison, but she did find the idea that other sentient life had struggles like her own to be oddly comforting.

Sam moved his arm to close her hand into a fist, letting the tiny jagged edges of the shell poke her palm. He didn’t need to tell her what this meant, but she appreciated the tiny smile that followed. He wanted her to keep it.

Topaz returned the smile, an unfamiliar expression lining her lips. It was foreign, but not unpleasant, so she let it grow by a few millimeters.

The man turned his head slightly to one side, like he was now appraising her, and she noticed his gaze linger over her gemstones for a beat too long. Her expression darkened and she leaned away, but Sam only moved closer. He seemed entranced by their large, smooth surfaces, and Topaz wished he would mind his manners like Pearl and Steven had taught her.

After another minute, Sam ended their somber interaction by clearing his throat. He took two hands and placed one over and one under Topaz’s still closed palm and closed his eyes. Almost bemused by the display, Topaz felt strangely humbled when he bowed his head at her hand. She couldn’t be certain with human gestures, but it felt like a motion of respect.

He withdrew his hands and turned away, moving back up to the beach proper. Topaz followed him with her eyes, and he turned and bent in the sand to retrieve what must have been his well-shined black shoes.

A twitch ran down her arm to her empty hand, reminding her of some of the things she’s learned. A memory, fresh and warm, rose and instructed her to raise her wrist mechanically and move it from side-to-side, hand splayed out. Sam mirrored the motion with a full, crinkly smile and turned, walking back towards the city.

Topaz watched him go, a bit confused and curious, but mostly… happy. Something about Sam made her feel less tense, less alien, less hostile. He was… strange, compared to everyone else she’s met, but she sort of didn’t mind. She was strange, too, after all.

 

* * *

 

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey Steven,” Amethyst called from downstairs, her voice getting louder with each extension of the syllable. She and Pearl were in the kitchen, the former sitting on the counter and the latter standing, mixing a bowl of oatmeal for his breakfast. Topaz was seated on the couch, tapping the fingers of one hand against her knees, the other still firmly closed around the shell from the night before.

Steven had been slow to wake today, but the Crystal Gems had determined he needed to rise and begin his day. Amethyst took it upon herself to rouse him from his slumber, rather loudly if Topaz was to judge.

The boy rolled out of bed and descended the stairs, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes. Through a yawn, he asked, “W’hdya guys ‘p to?”

Before anyone had the chance to respond, the Temple door opened and out stepped their leader, Garnet. Topaz felt her eye twitch, and she made it a pointed effort to look away, turning to the distraction in her palm.

“Good morning Steven,” she said calmly, moving towards the gathering in the kitchen. Steven had jumped up onto one of the chairs, now at height with Pearl and Amethyst, and began to eat.

“What’s the plan today, G? We still gotta help Peri with that new what’cha’ma’call’it-thing, right?”

The fusion hummed a response, tilting her head towards the front door. Pearl and Steven followed her gaze, and they could hear a plodding of wood from outside.

“Jamie is here.” Garnet stated blankly. She turned towards the couch and moved to sit on the short end, crossing her legs and leaning against the cushions with ease. Her position made a clear division between the path to the door and Topaz’s seat on the couch, which was enough to regain the yellow gem’s attention. After a shared stoic pause, fusion to fusion, Topaz blinked herself into the present, feeling the stares of Pearl and Amethyst drilling into her from the kitchen.

 _Jamie_ … She knew that name.

_Oh no, not him._

Of all the people who had forgiven her, of all the reassurance and support Steven and the Crystal Gems had offered, of all the awkward but polite interactions she had faced in her few weeks on Earth… she could not face this young human. Steven insisted it was fine and that the male organic was content with putting it behind them, but there was something about him Topaz couldn’t bare.

Steven, utterly aloof to the tension, responded by pushing himself off his chair, having only had a few bites of his breakfast at this point, and throwing open the screen door. “Ooooh mail, mail, mail!”

“Steven, hey!” Jamie came into view a moment later, and Topaz visibly winced at the sound.

She stared into the shell, remembering the kindness and simplicity of the night before, and wondering if she would ever feel that sort of familiarity with the others here. How had it been so easy with him?

Steven and Jamie carried on an easy conversation for a few minutes when a curious pitch piqued Steven’s voice.

“...Sam?”

Topaz’s attention flicked up, stealing a glance at the doorway at the unexpected announcement. She hadn’t told the others about last night yet, and she wasn’t exactly sure if she wanted to.

She clenched her jaw, determined to wipe her expression of any interest to avoid prying questions, and counted the seconds until the mailman finally left.

For someone several centuries old, it was some of the hardest five minutes of her life.

Finally, with a smile and laugh, Jamie left the porch and continued on his route. Steven walked into the living room with a small pile of letters and one brown, simply wrapped package.

Garnet smirked at Steven with approval and nodded.

“Topaz?”

She met the boy’s gaze, face a mask of apathy, shrouding the raging storm of curiosity buried beneath the surface.

“There’s… mail for you. Jamie said it’s from Suitcase Sam.”

The gems had all gathered in the living room at this point, leaning curiously over the small package. Of all the ways she might have responded, they did not expect the emphasis to be on a single word.

“ _Suitcase_ Sam?”

“Uh, yeah,” Steven responded with a small chuckle. “It’s these human things that are rectangular, and some people keep their stuff in them. It’s usually for business people or people like that.”

He placed the small package on the table in front of her, pushing it across the table. It matched the shape Steven described, although it was still wrapped in paper.

“Is this… a suitcase?” Topaz picked it up gingerly, afraid she might destroy the package. It was small enough to fit in her whole hand, although it was much larger that the tiny shell.

“Probably not, it’s way too sma--” Steven began to say, but Garnet interrupted him.

“Why don’t you open it?” Her voice was characteristically flat, but Topaz could have sworn she picked up just the _tiniest_ flicker of excitement somewhere in those five words. Maybe she was just projecting.

Carefully, Topaz grabbed one of the corners of the prism and peeled back the protective exterior - it was a very flimsy covering and would have failed to protect the contents within, if push came to shove.

She cocked her head to one-side and looked at the burgundy rectangle in her open hand, smooth with gold lettering on the front.

Amethyst, practically crawling over Pearl’s shoulders to get a better look, blurted out the text.

“ _National Aubudon Society’s Field Guide to Seashells…_ ? What the heck does that even _mean_?”

“Oh, it looks like there’s a page tagged.” Pearl noted from across the table, pointing towards a folded corner inside the crease of the prism. Topaz turned the book sideways and looked at the fold, unsure what any of this meant. She recognized the letters and the pictures on the front, but this “field guide” was entirely incomprehensible to her.

“Open it to the page, Topaz!” Steven practically shouted when she just continued to look at the exterior of the book, so she delicately poked a large finger into the side and slowly opened it to the identified page.

She let out a tiny, inaudible gasp. The pictured shell was the same as the one she grasped carefully in her other hand.

 _Haustellum is a genus of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae (see page 211), the murex snails or rock snails._ _Like many other genera within the Muricidae, the genus has been redefined several times..._

Topaz rested a finger against the image and outlined the picture; it wasn’t the exact same as the one she had, the coloration was slightly different and jagged in different points, but it was definitely similar.

“This is… weird. And kinda lame.” Amethyst blew her tongue and moved back towards the kitchen, starting to rifle through the fridge.

Topaz noticed Garnet smile at her, which made her grimace out of reflex, but the crossfusion mrely shrugged.

“Oh well. Maybe it was a mistake. Back to breakfast, Steven.”

Pearl gave Garnet a quizzical look, but she shooed them both back towards the far end of the living room.

Topaz continued to scan the page, confused and interested and curious and mercifully _informed_. This was something she could understand. A guide. A manual, a rulebook, an index. It was one seashell, but now knew what it meant, where it was from, how it got the name, and it was exclusively her own. The Crystal Gems didn’t have to provide a frame of context for her.

She closed the book with an expressionless face, hiding the smile that threatened to betray her perfected mask of apathy. As she did, a tiny yellow slip of paper fell from the binding that she hadn’t noticed before.

In handwritten scrawl, a small note read:

“ _Same place, tonight? Bring the book. - Sam”_

Garnet was watching her out of the corner of her eye but said nothing as a true grin spread across her fellow fusion’s face.


End file.
